1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a modular fore-end rail assembly for firearms. More specifically, the present invention relates to a modular fore-end rail assembly for retrofitting a firearm that includes an upper handguard portion that is clamped around and supported by the barrel nut and further including a removable lower handguard portion that is mounted onto the upper handguard portion to fully surround the firearm barrel. The lower handguard further includes a locking mechanism to keep it assembled to the upper handguard.
2. Background of the Related Art
In the general field of combat and commercial weaponry, there is a broad range of accessories available for mounting onto standard firearms in order to upgrade the capability of these weapons. One area within the broad scope of available firearms that is of particular interest is the M16/M4 weapon system typically utilized in military or combat settings. Generally, referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, the M16/M4 weapon 100 includes a lower receiver 102, an upper receiver 104, a butt stock 106 extending rearwardly from the upper and lower receivers 102, 104 and a barrel 108 that is attached to the front of the upper receiver 104 and extends in a forward direction. The barrel 108 is held in position on the front of the upper receiver 104 by a barrel nut 110 that is threaded onto a barrel mount located on the front of the upper receiver 104. Most new models of the M16/M4 weapons 100 also include a dovetail rail interface 112 integrally formed along the top of the upper receiver 104. This interface rail 112 provides a convenient mounting point for many of the available accessories for use with the M16/M4 firearm 100 such as scopes, sighting devices, lasers and directed fire devices. Since this rail extends only along the upper receiver 104 the interface it is limited in length to the length of the upper receiver 104. The difficulty is that many military personnel have multiple sighting devices in addition to a variety of lighting devices, accessory handgrips, etc. that could also be attached to the weapon 100 for enhanced use of the weapon 100. In view of the broad range of add on accessories, there is not enough space on the upper receiver 104 to accommodate all of the accessories that the user may desire to use. Accordingly, there is a clear need for integration systems that include additional dovetail rail interfaces in order to support the wide variety of auxiliary equipment that is needed while withstanding the rigors of combat use and abuse.
However, prior art mounting systems often limit access to the receiver 102,104, barrel 108 and barrel nut 110 assembly. This situation is undesirable because it limits servicing of the weapon 100 to qualified weapon smiths with appropriate tools and setting, e.g. an armory.
Accordingly, there is a need for a modular fore-end rail assembly for mounting accessories to a firearm 100 that supports the accessories that allows the lower handguard to be quickly detachable from the upper handguard. There is a further need for a modular fore-end rail assembly that provides an easily removal portion that allows access to the barrel 108 of the firearm 100 without having to remove the entire assembly from the firearm that is operable using only a single hand. Finally, there is a further need for a modular fore-end rail assembly that can be mounted to a firearm that derives its structural support entirely from the upper receiver 104 of the firearm 100 while not requiring the replacement of modification of the existing barrel nut 110, yet still retains an easily removable portion for servicing the barrel 108.